Treesearch

This paper addresses key elements of a conceptual view for advancing monitoring and a variety of applications to land resources and environmental management in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Fundamental to this conceptual view is what we know about the structure and functioning of nature: the spatial and temporal dynamics of processes (for example, objects, outcomes), the multirelational matrix of cause-effect relationships, the uncertainty of location and duration of outcomes, and the power of human intelligence that can alter the structure of order in nature. Because knowledge is constantl...

Modeling and experiments have suggested that spatial fuel treatment patterns can influence the movement of large fires. On simple theoretical landscapes consisting of two fuel types (treated and untreated) optimal patterns can be analytically derived that disrupt fire growth efficiently (i.e. with less area treated than random patterns). Although conceptually simple, the application of these theories to actual landscapes is made difficult by heterogeneity (fuels, weather, and topography) compared to the assumptions required for analytical solutions. Here I describe a computational method...

Treaties such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognize the link between changes in vegetation cover and impacts on the global climate. The UNFCCC specifies guidelines for monitoring land use changes and for including such changes in the “equation” for evaluating a nation’s compliance with efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) releases into the atmosphere. With an estimated 20 percent of CO2 emissions coming from land use changes, such monitoring must measure the carbon content of various vegetation types. ARD, Inc. developed such means through a...

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology has been used to model wind speed and direction in mountainous terrain at a relatively high resolution compared to other readily available technologies. The process termed “gridded wind” is not a forecast, but rather represents a method for calculating the influence of terrain on general wind flows. Gridded wind simulations are typically produced at resolutions of 100 m using laptop computers. Resolution is limited only by elevation data resolution and computer memory. Initial comparisons between simulated winds and measured average wind speeds...

The Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research Project and the Bitterroot National Forest funded a boundary spanner to coordinate research activities taking place on the Forest, increase technology transfer and outreach, and foster increased dialogue among and between researchers and managers. Coordination involved use of a research special use permit and a GIS map to track research projects. This led to protection of researchers’ study sites and forest resources, increased cooperation between and among the Forest and researchers, and safer working conditions. Technology transfer involved a...

Stand-replacement fires, particularly in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests, have replaced highfrequency, low-intensity historical fire regimes. We examined whether forest stands treated recently using silvicultural practices would be (1) less susceptible to stand-replacing crownfires, and (2) more ecologically and functionally resilient compared to untreated stands following extreme wildland fire. Reports detailing wildland fire behavior in treated stands remain largely anecdotal. We compared fire severity indices, fireline intensity (btu/ft/s), stand characteristics including...

Fort Bragg, North Carolina includes over 65,000 acres of longleaf pine forest, which is primary habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW). Effective management of the RCW depends on effective management of the longleaf pine forest. However, growth and yield models available in the geographic area that includes Fort Bragg over-predict stand growth and produce unrealistic projections of future stand conditions. Among these models is the Southern Variant of the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FVS), which was developed and is maintained by the USDA Forest Service. The FVS framework...

The major mountain ranges in the study area today were produced by Middle Miocene and younger extensional faulting. Faulting continued into the late Pleistocene as evidenced by fault scarps along the margins of the Animas, Hachita, and Playas Valleys. These long-term geologic events resulted in the present basin and range physiography of the Malpai Borderlands, as summarized by Hawley (1993).

Park managers have seldom had the scientific information on recreation and its impacts that they need. Despite allocating substantial portions of park budgets to visitor management, few resources are typically allocated to recreation science. This is hugely problematic. Visitors are a focal species in every park and yet we have little systematic information about how many there are, where they go, what they do, and how they impact the biophysical resource. In this essay I explore potential reasons why neither managers nor scientists have effectively advocated for a strong recreation...

Pinus oocarpa has a large natural distribution in the sub-tropical forests of Mexico. Populations, however, are rapidly disappearing particularly in the Michoacan State as native forests are converted to avocado (Persea sp.) orchards.We investigated the patterning of genetic variation among P. oocarpa populations for quantitative traits along an altitudinal gradient by establishing a provenance/progeny test from wind-pollinated seeds collected along an altitudinal transect (1100–1500 m) near Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico. Genetic variation was analyzed in relation to normalized climate...